[b]Suspect wounded in church parking lot[/b]


A Spartanburg Public Safety officer shot a homeless man in the leg Sunday outside a church after the man repeatedly tried to strike him with a brick, according to police reports.

John Will Hall, 41, who has no permanent address, was listed in fair condition Sunday at Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System.

The pastor at Second Presbyterian Church on N. Church Street told an investigator he offered breakfast to a man later identified as Hall early Sunday morning.

The man declined and said something about his "kin folk taking him to the river," according to a report at the Spartanburg Public Safety Department.

Later, as members arrived for Sunday School, they said they saw the man outside holding sticks and with broken bricks at his feet.

An officer was dispatched about 9:20 a.m. Sunday to a suspicious person report at the church.

A 7-year veteran of the Spartanburg Public Safety Department, 44-year-old David Hearst, found Hall hitting two sticks together outside the church.

The officer started talking to him. Then, the man threw the sticks at the officer and picked up a brick, according to a report filed at the Spartanburg Public Safety Department.

The man hurled the brick at the officer, who used pepper spray that did not appear to affect Hall, according to the report.

Hall then took a brick and began to vandalize a 1994 Chevrolet Caprice parked close to the building, the report said.

Hall then turned back on the officer, refusing repeated demands to drop the brick.

One blow from a thrown brick hit the officer in the arm.

Hall continued advancing as the officer backed away, and Hearst fired twice. Hall suffered non life-threatening injuries to his thigh and ankle. After he fell to the ground, Hearst administered First Aid.

One witness told an investigator that "Officer Hearst did everything he could to keep from shooting the subject," according a police report.

Longtime church member Loree George said they heard a loud noise

from inside and then two shots.

She learned later that windows on her car were shattered and broken. A public safety officer drove her home, George said.

"The officer did what he has been trained to do," said Capt. Randy Hardy with the Spartanburg Public Safety Department. "It's unfortunate on what should be one of the most peaceful days of the week at a church setting we have this type of incident."

Hearst has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the investigation, which is standard procedure following an officer-involved shooting.

Not only will the city's professional standards division look into what happened, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division also is conducting a separate, independent investigation.

Charges are pending against Hall.

Good shoot in my book.

The officer tried several approaches first, before resorting to lethal force.

Justifiable action on the part of Officer Hearst.  I would also say the Officer displayed a good deal of restraint considering a brick upside your head could leave you as dead as last weeks fish.

Although shooting is a last resort, some wait too long. The first brick should been the end of that one. But, it worked out well for both. for now.


Wait until the dumb sum bitch sues the department for "wounding" him. I'll bet theres a bottom feeder asking to visit him in the jail already, readying his client for a civil suit.

Yep, he waited to long. That first thrown brick could have hit him in the head instead of the arm. He also needs some remedial marksmanship training.

True. Since a gun is really only a very hi-tech "rock thrower", once the BG threw the first rock, I'd have thrown one of my own...


I doubt that, seriously. Around here, the general population has very little sympathy for anyone that harms a Cop (ie: "Lock the fucker up, and throw away the key, IF we don't execute his ass).

I'm sure that this idiot was getting on the Cops' nerves in a big way, but he still had the prescence of mind to shoot to STOP, not simply blast away. I think the SPSD officer did a pretty damn good job.

What a dumbass. He's lucky that he didn't catch two in the chest. It sounds to me like the officer did an outstanding job and possibly had a little too much restraint for his own good, though it's hard to judge without being there.

Good job, good shoot.

The only thing about it that still pisses me off is I can't shoot somebody who comes at me with a brick or a knife or a hammer or some other equally deadly weapon.

I have to be cornered with no escape before I can shoot. The perp also has to be armed with a gun before I can shoot him/her. [pissed]

What's up with that?

Us against them syndrome.

After talking to the guy then hitting him with pepper spray, what are you supposed to do next if not shoot?  BTW, I saw the officer just afterwards, and he was very upset.  I talked to an officer there, that I think was from IA, at about 12:45 PM, and he said it looked like the department was going to look for a reason to "nail the officer to the wall."  He said he had been told not to stop looking until he found something the officer did wrong.  When I walked by the site at that time, I saw 19 yellow pylons, and there were still four officers on site.  In local murders I've seen, the officers weren't nearly as thorough.   It looks like the department is going out of their way to screw this guy.



Absolutely true.  The strange thing is that most people around here have either had a very negative experience with the local police or had a close friend or family member that has, but they still always support the police when it comes to their protection.z

Good shoot from two perspectives.

Good to shoot the threat, and, in oposition to AR15fan, I thought his marksmanship was great.  How many times do ya read about a shooting incident where "12 shots were fired, nobody injured" or something like that.  

Good shoot.  Good restraint not to kill the guy.  

Scott

I doubt he was aiming for the thigh and ankle.

It sounds like he was backing away, and wasn't actually aiming.  The gun was either coming up, or going down when he fired.

[b]"kin folk taking him to the river," [/b]


would this be the Jordan river?

good shoot the officer showed digression by not firing center mass.  it appears the situation was progressing at a slow and steady pace and he used just enough force (deadly force) to resolve the situation.  

I agree with Scott on the cop's actions.

I DO get a kick out of the fact that a homeless ill man is sitting outside a church, talking to himself, not actually causing harm, and THEY, call 911!! [ROFL2]

sounds like the officer showed alot of restraint

keep in mind
[b]the cop found Hall hitting two sticks together outside the church.[/b]

that spells deadly weapon in Texas.